Iran's Answer To YouTube Is Called Mehr

Iranians are getting a new addition to their restricted online menu: Mehr. Mehr is a video-sharing website that will allow the country's citizens to share short clips they have filmed themselves. The ethos behind it is similar to YouTube, which has been banned since the elections of 2009, after accusations of vote rigging followed President Ahmedinejad's victory.

Censorship can be circumnavigated by using a VPN, or virtual private network, which allows web users to circumnavigate any filters.

Mehr, which means "affection" in Farsi, shares its name with a California-registered NGO which is probably not at the top of President Ahmedinejad's charity list, it being a campaigner for human rights in Iran. The deputy of state broadcaster IRIB, said that, as well as uploading their own videos, users will be able to watch IRIB-produced content as well.

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